These days, picking a holiday can feel like choosing between a rock and a hard place. Long-distance means hefty fuel surcharges, which means ever more expensive fares. Short haul can spell trouble, too, often involving a showdown with the bullish Euro, or the uncertainty over which airline might collapse next.

But hovering somewhere in the middle distance there's a compromise. According to recent research, more and more of us are forgoing the extremes for somewhere in between - leapfrogging the Med and heading to the Middle East and North Africa for winter sun. And when holidaymakers are going the long haul, their gazes are increasingly fixed on destinations where the pound still holds weight.

It's a buyer's market out there, and there are still plenty of bargains to be had.

Gambia

Gambia has been feted as one of the best spots to enjoy a budget safari alternative to the long-haul South African options, but its coastal resorts offer just as much value. With journey times from the UK taking an average of seven hours, flights fall well short of the dreaded nine-hour tax boundary (any flights exceeding nine hours incur fuel surcharges of up to 30% more than those below) and therefore offer very good value for independent bookers and package operators alike. The Gambia Experience has recently slashed hundreds of pounds from some of its most popular beach packages, with a variety of seven-night holidays coming in under the £300 mark. A week at the Kombo Beach hotel, surrounded by bougainvillea and baobab on the fringes of the Senegambia strip, is currently on offer from £299pp bed and breakfast.

Cape Verde

Less than six hours from the UK, Cape Verde is a classic mid-haul choice, with stunning beaches and dozens of family-run boutique hotels scattered across the islands. And this winter the choices will multiply, with new direct flights to the island of Boavista set to join existing flights to the island of Sal. Holidayoptions.co.uk have an excellent accommodation roster across both islands, and are knocking £75pp off each booking made before September 30. On Boavista, the three-star, seven-room Casa Orquidea is a brand new guesthouse by the ocean run by a Cape Verdean wife and a Belgian husband team, who arrange regular fishing trips for guests. Packages cost £745pp based on departures from November 7-28, including flights from Gatwick and bed and breakfast. On Sal, weeklong packages at the four-star Hotel Odjo d'Agua in the village of Santa Maria start from £746pp on departures from November 3 until December 2, on the same basis.

Tunisia

Tunisia's pearl ... Sidi Bou Said. Photograph: Guido Cozzi/Corbis

Tunisia, like Egypt, is a frequently packaged holiday option with the majority of visitors being herded towards the high-rise hotels that line the coast at Hammamet and Port El Kantaoui-Sousse. Good luck to them, but they're missing the best bit. The pearl of Tunisia's Mediterranean coastline is Sidi Bou Said, a cluster of whitewashed buildings perched on a hill overlooking the Bay of Tunis, 20-minute drive from the airport. Among their number, the Hotel Dar Said is one of Africa's best boutique hotels, at the tip of one of the dozens of small, winding lanes that focus around the village's hill-top mosque. The residence has been converted from a grand 19th-century mansion set around four interior courtyards, one of which hosts the swimming pool and spectacular views down on to the Gulf. There are handful of top-notch cafes and restaurants nearby, such as the Sidi Chabanna, with terraces carved into the cliffs.Aspects of Tunisia (+44 (0)20 7836 4999) have four-night packages from £595pp bed and breakfast, including return flights from Gatwick.

Egypt

If you've found yourself in a queue at the Post Office recently, it may not have been for the usual reasons. Over the last few months, their foreign exchange wing has seen sales in Egyptian pounds rocket by over 50%, a development linked to an across-the-board surge in holiday bookings to the country. It's not hard to see why. Packages to the most famous resorts – Hurghada and Sharm El Shiekh – are some of the most popular holidays with Britain's larger operators, and lowcostpackages.co.uk currently have a seven-night, half-board package at a three-star hotel in Hurghada for £286 including flights from Gatwick. This requires booking ahead for February, but guarantees temperatures averaging around 25 degrees. If you want to get away from the crowds there are plenty of lower key budget offerings. In relative isolation further south on the Red Sea Coast, up-and-coming Marsa Alam is what Sharm and Hurgahda were like 10 years ago, and has been witnessing a steady rise in popularity since the arrival of its own international airport in 2001. Regaldive, as their name suggests, usually occupy themselves with wet suits and air tanks, but when the diving bit is optionally snipped from their packages, the prices drop considerably. Winter packages to Marsa Alam start from £399 per person per week on a half board basis, including return flights from Gatwick.

· regal-diving.co.uk; 01353 659 999

· Following the recent kidnapping of tourists in Egypt the Foreign Office has reissued its advice but the overall level has not changed.

Mexico

The pound may have been wimpy elsewhere, but it has held up relatively well against the Mexican peso over the last few years. And with Mexico, you are spoilt for choice. However, the hundreds of different packages to the country's Caribbean coast are habitually blighted by their dodgy accommodation tie-ins, so the safest bet here is to book your hotel and flight separately (just make sure you book with an Atol-bonded company and pay with a credit card not debit card to be covered). It can work out at just as good value, too - Thomson is offering return flights to Cancun from London Gatwick from £479 for seven nights. I-escape's predictably excellent range of hotels on the Yucatan include two excellent budget options; Zamas, a collection of 14 rustic cabanas near Tulum's Mayan ruins (from £47 for a double) and the Shambala Petit Hotel (from £52 for a double), a small Thai-inspired resort on a white powder beach.

Jamaica

The world economy might be teetering on the brink, but you know things aren't all bad when holidays to the Caribbean are offering great value. One of the best deals on the net at the moment is dreamticket.com's two-week package to Jamaica for £645pp, available between October 2 and December 14, with return Virgin Atlantic flights from Gatwick. It's on a room- only basis, but these aren't just ordinary rooms. The package includes two weeks at Jake's, one of the Caribbean's most in-the-know locations, with a guest book including Kate Moss, Jade Jagger, and Robbie Williams. Situated in isolation on the undeveloped southern coast of the island, the hotel is ramshackle chic, with a handful of eclectically-styled beach shacks surrounded by hammocks, mosaics, and a mural painted by one-time guest Joni Mitchell. And, as for the rest, the Jamaican dollar is another currency that the pound has been holding its own with, so you won't be paying supermodel prices to accompany your supermodel holiday.

· The recent collapse of XL Leisure Group, as well as several airlines has left some people feeling jittery about which companies to book with. Make sure that you are protected by the Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (Atol) scheme.